Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Disney is releasing a new movie in November called Enchanted. It is a romantic comedy and it looks absolutely hilarious. It takes a tongue in cheek look at the whole genre of the Fairy Tale and of course disney pokes a little bit of fun at itself. They have after all created the lion’s share of movies with a Fairy Tale theme.

The movie is supposed to start out with 14 minutes of animation and then transition into traditional filming. The premises is about a fairy tale princess who gets thrust into our world. - thus the transition from animation to film.

Anyway the beginning of this trailer really kills me. Going to be great fun for Medieval fans of all ages! Probably a great date movie too! Here is the Trailer:

Popularity: 13% [?]

 The Bestiary by Nicholas Christoper: Book Review 

This is a Chimera of a book - Read on to understand what I mean

For me there are two kinds of fantasy books. The first kind is the book you read because its just a lot of fun. You know, there is a grand adventure, damsels in distress, knights and dragons and of course a big and exciting new world to explore. Big, in this type of novel, means epic on a grand scale.

The second type of fantasy book, for me, is the meaning of life type. This is the kind of book that is really big in a different way. You travel along with the main character in his or her quest to figure out the meaning of things. His is a strange world with strange creatures (very  Kafkaesque) and of course, he can never really figure any ultimate answers to the big questions (classic Kafka), he can only come up with his solutions. The real joy is in the questing. So big, in this type of novel, means big questions and a big search to answer them.

Upon first impression this book fits into neither one of these categories. Let me explain. It is a book about a man who develops an obsession with finding a book that may or may not exist. It’s called the Caravan Bestiary. It is said to be an encyclopedia of the beasts that were denied entry onto Noah’s Ark.

There are no massive battles and there is no grand search for the meaning of life. It is just one man trying to figure out something about himself. And well, when you stop to think about it, you have to admit that it really doesn’t get much bigger than that. When it comes down to it this is all we really can do; try to figure out our little place. So this book fits very well into my second category of fantasy.

And this obsession does get even bigger because it is wrapped in a deeper meaning.

The main character has a real love for the creatures of the earth both past, present, mythical or not. It adds a really nice dimension to this book. His quest becomes a “If I could just accomplish one little thing that really means something” quality.

And this reverence and love for the beasts of the earth makes a transition to you the reader. You start to really get a sense of the beauty of the creatures of the earth and you feel it.

While reading you are going to realize that this book itself creates a new entry into the Bestiary. It is a Chimera of sorts. The front of this new Chimera is a lamb and the back is a lion. - The lamb is a fun fantasy story about the chase for a mythical book. The Lion is the passion for the mystery and the beauty of all the creatures on this earth whether they be mythical or not.

It is an enjoyable and thought provoking book and I recommend you give it a try if you are looking for something more than just fantasy. And it comes with an extra little bonus. It has a glossary of Mythical creatures appended to it which is just wonderful.

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The Caravan Bestiary is not a real book, it is a creation of the authors mind so if you want to do some sleuthing you are going to be out of luck but here are some links and books you might find interesting.

LINKS

• Author’s Homepage: NicholasChristopher.com
• Pre-order the book at Amazon.com - The Bestiary
• Dave’s Mythical Creatures (website)

BOOKS

• The True Story of Noah’s Ark (with audio CD and pull-out spread)
• Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological Creatures: 1,087 Renderings from Historic Sources (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Popularity: 22% [?]

While watching an episode of Frasier I had a real laugh out loud moment. Daphne and Niles were debating what they should call their child and Daphne was rolling out a series of names.

One of the series was “Tanner, Tailor, Hunter or Fletcher”? To which Niles replied

“It sounds like you are reading from a book of Medieval Professions.”

I really let out a good laugh at this and it made me think how times have changed. I think that during the middle ages people were very proud of their professions -the things and contributions they made. They closely identified with their profession and from this pride a bowyer might call his son fletcher, and well… you get the picture.

Why don’t we stay true to this tradition anymore? Would it be okay for me to name my children webber, seller, clerker, driver or teleseller? LOL It just doesnt seem to be the same!

If I had big ambitions for my children maybe I could call them Investor, Developer, CEOer or Banker? Nah, just doesn’t seem to work.

And another interesting change to this whole thing is that in the middle ages they didn’t job hop like we do now. You started out as a smith and right there at that anvil you worked your whole life. No touchy feely thoughts about maybe next year I will try being a farmer or an artist. Nope, you were a smithy and your name was probably smith!

And how would we solve the job hopping dilemma in todays world? The same way marriage names have changed? So, as a persons careers changed so would his name become hypenated? Hi, my name is Janitor-Cashier-Manager-Regional manager Smith!  lol

And there is something to be said for putting the cart before the horse. Can you change things by changing your name?  Picture two students in a classroom;  one is named Investor Jones, and the other is named Janitor Smith. Would this tag of having a name change the reality of each student? Would the teacher treat Investor Jones differently than Janitor Smith? hmm… something to think about and in hopes of this actually working I am going to change my name to Lottery Winner Will! Wish me luck.

Popularity: 28% [?]